Celebrating Nurses Week

Every May, Carroll Hospital celebrates our nursing staff who work tirelessly day and night, weekends and holidays, to provide the best care for our patients.

During Nurses Week, our “Superheroes in Scrubs” were delivered breakfast, given a special appreciation gift and had the opportunity to have their hands blessed by our chaplains and community clergy.

DAISY Award winners and the more than 80 nurses who were nominated for the Nurse of the Year honor attended an awards banquet at The Portico at St. John in Westminster to honor their accomplishments.

From left to right: Carroll Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Stephanie Reid, R.N.; Nurse of the Year Michelle Rivers, R.N., and President Leslie Simmons, R.N.

Michelle Rivers, R.N., was named the Nurse of the Year. Rivers has been a nurse for 25 years, with 17 of them at Carroll Hospital. She is a clinical educator who provides continuing education and mentors fellow nurses in the medical-surgical areas.

“She gets to know nurses on a personal level and makes deep, caring connections,” wrote one nominating colleague. “She makes learning fun and interesting and has a way of explaining things so everyone can understand. … I have seen her put worried patients and concerned visitors at ease with just a short conversation, her beautiful smile and sometimes a hug. She is, without hesitation, one of the greatest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing, and I am thankful for her and for what she does for this organization every day.”

Another nominator shared a recent event when Michelle pitched in to help care for patients during an especially busy time in The Family Birthplace. “…Without hesitation, no questions asked, she immediately stepped in and began assisting me in triage,” wrote the nominator. “She started taking vital signs, she helped a very sick patient into the restroom, she began taking and collecting urine specimens, but most of all she kept the patients and their family members calm.”

Afterward, Michelle continued to check in on the unit and even bought the staff pizza, which they greatly appreciated during such a hectic time. “She proved that as a nurse we can always go back to the basics and be able to step into any environment, even out of our comfort zone, and perform the basic skills we were all taught to provide effective patient care,” wrote the nominating nurse.

Congratulations, Michelle! And a special thanks to all of our nurses for the quality care you provide to our patients!